February 15, 2007	Thursday	Muharram 26, 1428

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window)

LONDON, Feb 14: Inexperienced all-rounder Ravi Bopara was the surprise inclusion when England's 15-man World Cup squad was unveiled on Wednesday.

The 21-year-old Essex player has only one One-day International appearance behind him from the recent tri-series in Australia – when he scored seven not out and took one wicket – but edged out batsman Mal Loye in the squad.

Chairman of selectors David Graveney said: “We have included Ravi Bopara because we believe he is a multi-dimensional cricketer whose all-round talents will help give the squad a better balance.”

Graveney unveiled the squad at The Oval in London, adding that he hoped captain Michael Vaughan would be fit to lead the team in the tournament in the West Indies after missing much of the recent tri-series in Australia which England won.

“This is a youthful squad with a number of highly promising players who made an excellent impression in Australia. The challenge facing the team now is to build on those performances Down Under and peak at the right time in the Caribbean,” Graveney said.

“The selectors were delighted with the team's outstanding performance in winning the Commonwealth Bank Series (tri-series) and we have retained the bulk of the squad who were in Australia for the World Cup.

“Michael Vaughan, James Anderson and Jon Lewis are all still recovering from injuries at present and have been named in the squad subject to a further re-assessment prior to our departure for the Caribbean.

“They will continue to undergo intensive treatment over the next fortnight and the medical staff will be giving the selectors regular updates on their progress. Kevin Pietersen, however, is now fully recovered from his rib injury and will be keen to make an impact in his first World Cup.”

Graveney denied that the inclusion of Vaughan was a gamble after he was ruled out of the tri-series final with Australia with hamstring problems.

“A number of other countries have done the same thing because of the timescale of the squad announcement,” he said.

“My wish is that when we get to St Vincent, Michael Vaughan will be fit to captain England.”

Asked what England's chances were in a tournament where they have struggled to mount a serious challenge for 15 years, Graveney said: “Well, two weeks ago we were told England needn't bother turning up while now I'm hearing we've been made second favourites – it probably sits somewhere between the two.

“We've shown we can beat the very best with our (tri-series) wins over Australia and New Zealand but we've also shown we can have performances like Adelaide (when England were bowled out for 110 and lost by nine wickets to Australia).”

England, who have reached three World Cup finals and lost them all including their last appearance in one in 1992, are scheduled to leave for the Caribbean on March 2 and play their first warm-up match against Bermuda in St Vincent on March 5.

Their first match in the tournament's group stage is against New Zealand in St Lucia on March 16. They also face Kenya and Canada in Group C.

England squad: Michael Vaughan (captain), Ed Joyce, Ravi Bopara, Ian Bell, Andrew Strauss, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, Andrew Flintoff, Paul Nixon (wicket-keeper), Jamie Dalrymple, Monty Panesar, Jon Lewis, James Anderson, Liam Plunkett, Sajid Mahmood.—Reuters